Higher chip prices leave Britons with a fishy aftertaste

. . each person in Britain eats on average 104.5 kilograms of potatoes a year.
Photo: Getty Images

by
Whitney McFerron

British consumers may have to pay more for the 382 million fish-and-chip meals they buy annually after the ­second-wettest year in a century curbed the potato crop.

Most of the country’s 10,500 outlets probably raised prices for chips by 10 per cent or more, the president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, Gregg Howard, said. A medium portion of chips now costs £1.50 ($2.30) in his shop, 20 pence more than last month. That may increase again in the second quarter because the new crop would not emerge until the northern summer, said Mr Howard, the owner of Our Plaice in Hagley, England.

Higher costs matter because the average Briton eats 104.5 kilograms of potatoes a year. Britain ranks 10th worldwide for consumption in a table headed by Belarus, the Food and Agricultural Organisation says.

Farmers more than doubled prices in the past year after Britain averaged 132cm of rain, the second-highest level since records began in 1910, the Met Office said. Britain’s harvest last year was the smallest since 1976.

“Everything potato-based is going to go up in price for a while," said Mr Howard, whose federation represents an industry selling £1.2 billion of fish and chips a year. “Most people are increasing prices marginally, just to cover the increase in potatoes."

Mr Howard said he bought about three tonnes of potatoes a week. Our Plaice sells a portion of cod, haddock, scampi or plaice for £4.20.

Supermarket prices for white potatoes were 86p a kilo in November, the highest since 2001, the most recent government statistics show.

Britain’s harvest slumped 24 per cent to 4.64 million tons last year, the Potato Council said. While early varieties would be sown this month, the main crop would be planted in late March, council director Rob Clayton said.

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The first potatoes are collected as early as June, and the main harvest in August.

“I still don’t think everyone has a precise strategy on how to utilise the domestic crop to its full potential," Mr Clayton said. “Some supermarkets are already advertising to consumers smaller potatoes or products with more blemishes."

The average price farmers received for main-crop potatoes reached £236.2 a ton in December, the highest since June 1995, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said. Some growers lost money last year because declining yields meant they couldn’t fill contracts or had harvested lower quality crops, he said.

William Morrison Supermarkets, which has more than 455 stores, amended specifications for the potatoes it buys to ensure it’s still able to stock British-grown supply.

Mr Howard said lower fish prices had helped offset some of the gains in potatoes. “But rest assured fish fryers are keeping the price of fish and chips affordable. It’s the nation’s favourite dish."